Author: John Everex

Rub

there’s a worn smooth spot
where his thumb rubbed the guardrail
ev’ry time he passed

Trill

a single robin
took flight trilling in anger
and pompous fury

Etch

the passing of time
carved and etched in her wrinkles
her glance without age

Talk

we snatch a few words
talking practicalities
then you cut me off

Words

the words are sincere
and his sly intonation
goes undetected

Lines

current realities
cling to their mendacious lines
as I flip the page

Damage

a leaf skeleton
the faint filigree damaged
by eager fingers

Torn

a painted toenail
snags the edge of my slumber
torn in ragged halves

Abyss

her whispered abyss
hides behind the compliment
with shabby delight

Star

photons entering
a dark pupil of the stars
lighting up a dream

Answer

I rush to answer,
stumbling over excuses,
and reveal too much.

Award

dusty, boxed and taped
his hidden award resides
in the dark corners

Run

early sunrise run
the chalk white cliff faces off
against a lone gull

Hand

so much is revealed
in his fragile hand gestures
when he talks of love

Shame

those lucid moments
when you remember just how
and cringe in mild shame

Lies

there are many lies
in this suburban valley
the fire is hidden

Forget

when people forget
those harried silent minutes
foreboding returns

Eyes

be brave for his eyes
bite your tongue and hide your qualms
when the wolves run free

Language

her pitch is subtle
tickling local dialect
subverting language

Worn

dealing with the day
leaves me worn near-transparent
and hung out to dry

Precious

precious, those times hide
slipping from a question’s grasp
to cosset reason

Thread

we take too much time
unpicking our tangled lines
and losing our thread

Start

I don’t recognise
his tawdry passing comment
as the start of it

Drift

keeping so busy
time drifts through my worn fingers
and I soon forget